Jets offseason: 'Experts' hand out grades and offer opinions

The Jets have had a busy offseason. If you're reading this, you likely knew that already.

In the event you didn't know it, here's a quick primer: They retained head coach Rex Ryan and extended his contract. They parted ways with receiver Santonio Holmes, cornerback Antonio Cromartie, and quarterback Mark Sanchez. They added seven free agents. They used all 12 of their draft choices.

See? I told you they were busy.

But how'd the Jets do overall? We obviously won't know until football games that count in the standings start getting played in a little more than three months. But based on what was addressed this offseason—and what wasn't—a handful of NFL pundits have already begun making assessments. Because NFL pundits—to say nothing of NFL reporters like moi—need something to do in late May. So here we are.

What follows is a quick roundup of what those so-called experts recently had to say about the offseason performance of Your New York Jets. Think of it as a little light reading this Memorial Day weekend. Or don't. Whatever.

Bear in mind that some of this stuff was written before Mike Vick basically conceded the starting quarterback job to Geno Smith on Thursday.

Grade: BThe take: This offseason could have been dominated by talk about Ryan's future and whether the coach would fit for the long term with GM John Idzik. That subject dissipated after the sides reached a contract extension. From a personnel standpoint, this Jets offseason will be marked by paying a premium for Decker, landing Vick on the cheap, deciding against pursuing Revis and loading up with 12 draft choices.

"The selection of Calvin Pryor looks like a nice fit,' Yates said. 'He seems to align with Rex Ryan's preferred brand of physical, tough, rugged defense. He should be an immediate contributor. Corner is a question mark. They whiffed on that position in free agency and it didn't work out for them in the first round of the draft. Ryan's defenses are paralyzing with premium corner play. They don't have a lockdown corner."

Adding Vick made sense because the team isn't necessarily married to Smith. The team could reset at the position next offseason without the cap-related implications that came with the deal Sanchez signed before Idzik arrived.

"They did well," Williamson said. "They had a lot of needs. Vick can still play. They do not have the worst group of weapons in the league. Their offensive line is solid enough. Rex will coach them up on defense. Their edge rushers and corners are not great, but they did improve the roster overall."

It was hard not to like the Jets' draft. While we're at it, let's give some kudos to Rex Ryan for admitting some homerism in the selection of quarterback Tajh Boyd. Or call it quasi-nepotism; Ryan's son played with Boyd at Clemson, so the New York coach made the move. All good. A sixth-rounder shouldn't threaten Geno Smith, anyway.

Good news: Rex Ryan confirmed during the NFL meetings in March that he still had that Mark Sanchez tattoo on his right arm. Better news, for the Jets and Ryan: Sanchez’s spot on the depth chart now belong to Michael Vick, who might elevate this team to the playoffs if he can surpass Geno Smith.